Stress is a serious condition that can impact many employees. It is vital that employers recognise and identify stress before it escalates or exacerbates other serious mental or physical health problems.

The Health and Safety Executive estimates that over 15.4 million work days were lost to work related stress, depression or anxiety in 2017/18, costing the economy approximately £6.5 billion each year.

So how do you identify and manage stress in the workplace and how can employers help support employees’ wellbeing?

Consider the demands on the employee

Is the workload reasonable? Employers have a legal responsibility set out by the Health and Safety Executive to assess the risk of work related stress and to take measures to control this. Ensuring that the work level is appropriate and time demands are achievable is one way to reduce the stress of an employee.

Giving employees unrealistic targets may increase their stress and increase the employee’s dissatisfaction at work. This in turn can lead to underperformance costing businesses potential profit.

Be aware that this will be different for each employee so one size fits all is not the case here.

Training and support

Ensuring that employees are fully trained to do their role is important. Employees who are uncertain of what they are doing or lack the capability to do the role will feel an increased level of stress. Reviewing employee training and holding regular reviews will help them feel more supported.

This is a particularly important factor when it comes to staff retention in roles where the skills needed are in high demand in the labour market.

Training Managers

Ensuring that all managers have a consistent approach to managing stress within the workplace is key as an inconsistent approach will encourage divisions within the company and ultimately may lead to staff resignations.

Training managers in consistency and to listen and talk to their employees could reduce the likelihood of employees going off sick or even long term sickness absence.

Improving team relationships

Having a good support network helps reduce stress levels, so creating this environment within teams is essential.  If employees have others to discuss, or even share workloads, bounce ideas off and indeed have peers to turn to if they are struggling will produce a more efficient and less stressed workforce.

A team does not always have to be peers who are working in the same job. They can be people in the same office, on the same desk or employees who carry out similar functions.

Having strong teams can also help improve knowledge sharing and reduce any key person dependencies that a business may have.

Consider an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

EAPs are becoming very popular within the working environment and are intended to help employees deal with personal problems that could negatively impact their performance at work.

Many also offer support to people living within the employee’s household, acknowledging that the mental wellbeing of family can also impact on the employee’s mental wellbeing.

Flexible working

Flexible working contributes to employees feeling trusted, appreciated and, managed well, will reduce their stress levels both in and outside of the workplace.

Working flexibly empowers employees and helps them juggle the pressures and demands in their personal life and balance that with the pressures of work. Giving staff more autonomy over their working day can increase productivity for the time the employee is in work.

Being flexible can also actively reduce stress levels by enabling employees to avoid stressful situations such as rush hour traffic, and subsequently difficult commutes and simplifying childcare arrangements.

Conclusion

While many employees enjoy and are motivated by challenges, ensuring that these are achievable and reasonable will help ambitious employees achieve more. When setting targets, assess each employee and the workplace ensuring you get the right balance between motivating staff members and not overloading the employee with workload they will not be able to manage.

Having a proactive policy in place to deal with stress will avoid employees going into ‘burnout’ and impacting negatively on the performance of the business.

If you’d like to find out more about how to implement an employee assistance programme and the associated costs or for further advice on managing employee stress contact one of our Employment Law Advisers on 0161 603 2156 to arrange your free initial consultation.

According to research from the Centre of Economic and Business Research, absence rates are predicted to cost the UK £18 billion in 2020, increasing to £26 billion in 2030.

Absence Management is always a difficult area of employment law for employers to navigate and is fraught with risk.

Most employers want to create an environment that fosters a good work ethic and a healthy environment which supports staff members when they are ill. However, employers are also concerned on the impact absences have on the profitability of the company.

The purpose of this article is to look at effective ways to manage poor absence, without putting your business at risk.

Is the illness long or short term?

When an employee is off sick it is vital to understand if the illness is long term or short term.

An employee who has persistent short term illnesses, (i.e. a cough, cold or the flu) could potentially be managed for their poor conduct via the business’ disciplinary procedures. An employee should make every effort to attend work, and calling in sick persistently could be classed as poor conduct. It would be advisable to consult your contract to see if there are any clauses regarding persistent absences and conduct.

However, if an employee has a long term illness they may be covered by the Equality Act 2010 which protects any employees from wrongful or unfair dismissals linked to their condition.

Treating employees less favourably because of a disability could be considered discrimination.

If the employee has a long term condition, then it may be appropriate to follow a medical capability process. The purpose of a medical capability process is to investigate the employee’s ability to perform his or her role in the long term. As this is a risky area of Employment Law, it is best to seek advice before coming to any such conclusions.

Return to work interviews

Investigating why an employee is off sick will help you determine if the absence is long term or short term. Return to work interviews are an excellent tool which will help employers conduct this investigation.

It is advised to hold a return to work interview after each absence as this creates a log of why that employee was absent. It is important that the manager gains a good understanding of the following areas within the meeting:

• What the absence was for
• Whether there are any underlying issues causing the absence
• Whether the employee thinks the absence will reoccur
• Whether the employee needs to seek guidance from a GP
• If there is anything the workplace can do to help support the employees return to work

Have clear policies in place

While it is easy to point out employees with persistent absences over a short period, it is more challenging to identify this over a longer period.

Having a clear absence management policy that everyone must abide by can help proactively manage employees who go off with persistent absences. It may also be considered a deterrent for employees who are considering having lots of absences.

The policy should clearly set out the differences between short term persistent absences, and those absences that could be covered by the Equality Act.

Train Managers

Ensuring that all managers have a consistent approach to absence management is vital.

A poorly trained manager who does not understand the absence management process could inadvertently cause a claim at tribunal, especially if the employee is covered by the Equality Act.

Training managers to listen and talk to their employees could reduce the likelihood of the employee going off sick again in the near future. It could also help the company put in place suitable reasonable adjustments which could reduce an employee’s absence rate.

As stated previously, treating employees less favourably because of a disability could be considered discrimination, so training for managers will also reduce the risk of an employee bringing about a claim of discrimination at tribunal.

Consider an Employee Assistance Programme

Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) are beneficial for employees who need additional support or counselling. While not the cheapest option, EAPs can help employees deal with personal problems that could negatively impact on their performance at work. Most EAPS offer counselling and advice on mental health, financial difficulties and legal matters. They often extend this support to people living within the employee’s household.

According to research from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), poor mental health was the most common cause of absence within the UK in 2017. Offering additional support in this area could help businesses reduce employee absence.

Conclusion

Absences within a business are inevitable, and no absence management policy will stop employees from needing time off to rest and recuperate after an illness.

However, a strong absence management policy executed with a consistent approach across the business can help reduce employees taking advantage of sick days and help protect vulnerable employees who need additional support.

If you don’t have an absence management policy in place or want to have your existing policy reviewed then Supportis can help – call one of ourEmployment Law Advisers on 0161 603 2156 to arrange your free initial consultation.

Jessica Varnish, a British track cyclist and multiple world Commonwealth and European Championship medallist has recently lost her claim in an Employment Tribunal against British Cycling and UK Sport.

Jessica claimed that she was an employee of British Cycling and UK Sport, making claims at an Employment Tribunal for Unfair Dismissal, Sex Discrimination and Protected Disclosure (formerly known as Whistleblowing) against the two organisations. 

The Tribunal found that Jessica was neither an employee nor a worker of either of the organisations. Therefore, the Cyclist was unable to make any claims at an Employment Tribunal. In order to bring such claims the claimant (person making the claims) must be an established employee or worker.

It was determined that both British Cycling and UK Sport were merely service providers, providing support to talented athletes and that the relationship with the athletes was not of an employer-employee type relationship.

Regularly reviewing the level of obligations each party holds is vital to understanding whether you are in serious breach of Employment Law legislation.

Responsibilities to employees and self-employed individuals are entirely different and if you are unclear on what your relationship is you are placing your organisation at risk of being made to award large sums at tribunal.

Lacking knowledge and understanding of the type of relationship you hold could mean that you are in serious breach of the Employment Law legislations. Should it be established that there is an employer-employee relationship where you had counted the employee as self-employed, it can result in large sums of award and compensation being paid to the employee.

At the core of the Supportis service is a top to bottom review of your business which enables us to provide you with ongoing bespoke advice.  As part of this review (and ongoing advice) we ensure your organisation is aware of the level of obligations they hold and determine whether there is an employer-employee relationship or whether individuals are self-employed.

For more information or to book a free consultation please call our Employment Law Advisers on 0161 603 2156.

In recent years, the Government have made many changes within education, the biggest being the changes in the GCSE grading. But what are the new grades and how can employers best understand them?

We’ve taken a look at the new grading system and summed it up below to help keep employers in the loop.

Grades

The new grading system runs from 1- 9, replacing the old A* to G system.

The new system has been designed, according to the Department for Education (DfE), to create a more rigorous approach to testing and examination. The new system identifies Grade 1 as the lowest possible grade available running up to Grade 9, which was intended to be a ‘new’ grade that identified those students whose performance was exceptional.

However, employers should be aware, the DfE has stressed that the old and new grading systems cannot be directly compared, and some new grades will span over two of the previous grade boundaries.

*Taken from Gov OFqual website

There are now two grades considered to be a pass: a Grade 4 is considered a standard pass, with a Grade 5 being considered a good pass.

Changing grade boundaries

Under the new grading system, boundaries are not fixed for the award of marks, meaning that fluctuations in the expected standard can occur every year in every subject.

The government have argued that this is to make grading fairer as previously it was impossible to say in advance how hard pupils would find the paper. This, in principle, allows exam boards to create rigorous standards for the awarding of grades, meaning that theoretically, students leaving secondary schools across the country are as well equipped, academically, as they ever have been for life in the modern workplace.

For the first year of the new GCSE (August 2017) the grade boundaries were calculated arithmetically. Therefore, once all the GCSEs were graded 9 to 1, the top 20% of those students achieving grade 7 or above were automatically be upgraded to a grade 9. The formula used in 2017 was:

Percentage of those achieving at least a grade 7 who will be awarded a grade 9 = 7% + 0.5 × (percentage of students awarded grade 7 and above)

It is unclear if this is going to be the formula that is moving forward each year, or how this will impact those who achieve a lower grade.

Are the new GCSEs actually harder?

While this will always be a difficult question to answer, many professionals believe that the new system benefits only the very high achievers.

If the pupil does not gain a Grade 4 or above, they will have to re-sit again until they achieve the pass mark. Once the pupil has reached the aged of 19, they will no longer have to re-sit unless they wish to proceed to further education.

The Teacher’s Union (NASUWT) has condemned the new grades, saying that it makes teaching in an increasingly difficult climate even harder. Teachers are struggling to grade mock exams, with no idea how pupils will be graded when it comes to the real thing. Even in light of the most recent set of exam data, education professionals remain unconvinced of the quality and suitability of the new grades to effectively measure student progress and achievement.

Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT condemned the Government’s new scheme saying that changes have only been driven by ‘political imperative’.

So what do employers need to consider?

As an employer you should be aware of the new grading system, in particular the idea that the higher the number is, the better quality the grade achieved is. Additionally, the notion of two passing grades, the standard pass and good pass, could be a relevant factor when sifting and reviewing prospective employees at an early stage. With education being an ever-changing aspect of modern life, subject to the whims of Government, every employer would benefit from keeping a close eye on any developments and changes to ensure that they are able to identify and procure the best candidates suited to their business.

With the financial year coming to an end, and for many a new holiday year just around the corner, what are employee rights when it comes to holidays?

Not being organised or planning in advance for annual leave could land an employer in hot water.

The aim of this article is to stop small business from falling into the holiday trap and costing the business hard earned money.

Knowing the employee’s contractual terms

Knowing exactly how many holidays each employee is entitled to will help a business with its holiday management. Being aware of any contractual obligations that an employer has committed to regarding holidays will also help. Some contracts guarantee that an employee will have 2 consecutive weeks off per year, or that an employee can give as little as 48 hours notice to take holidays.

Within the Working Time Regulations 1998, all employees are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 week’s holiday. However, don’t assume that each employee will only have the statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks.

Having a clear Holiday Policy

Similar to the above, if the contract is silent on holiday particulars, then having a good policy in place will help with holiday management.

A good holiday policy will provide details on:

• How much holiday can be taken at once
• How much notice must be given to take holiday
• How many people can be off at any one time
• When the holiday year runs from and until
• Whether or not unused holidays can be carried over into the next holiday year

Holiday is still considered to be a ‘use it or lose it’ benefit, but if this point is emphasised in a policy it
makes it much easier for business to enforce.

Keeping an effective log of holidays

Who has taken what and when? Being organised and monitoring how much holiday an employee has taken and when they’ve taken it will help. Regularly reviewing who has taken what holiday and proactively engaging with employees who have a build-up and encouraging them to book them in should stop the end of year rush to fit holidays in or create issues around workplace cover.

Remember, under the Working Time Regulations 1998, an employer can dictate that an employee takes holiday as long as double the amount of notice is given in relation to the amount of holiday the employee will be expected to take, i.e. if an employer wants an employee to take 1 weeks’ holiday 2 weeks’ notice should be given.

Don’t be afraid to say NO!

An employee has the right to request holidays, but does not have the right to have holidays granted. An employer can, within reason, say no to an employee’s holiday request. If the holiday request does not fall within the holiday policy, or will have a negative impact on the business, an employer does not have to grant it.

Employees should ensure that holidays have been accepted before booking their trips away.

Again, under the Working Time Regulations 1998 an employer can cancel holiday if there is a genuine business need. The employer must give the same notice as the holiday period in order to do this, i.e. if the employee is taking 1 weeks’ holiday, then 1 weeks’ notice must be given to cancel that holiday.

Cancelling holiday may cause the employee to feel very disgruntled, especially if they are losing out financially having booked travel and hotels and may incur extra childcare costs. It is essential therefore that this is seen as a last resort and if you are considering cancelling holidays at the last minute, it’s wise to seek advice.

Essential holiday management

Being organised, knowing your employees terms and conditions, having a good policy and sticking to it are all essential to good holiday management. As with any policy, being fair and consistent will help everyone with forward planning.

Supportis can help you to create and embed an effective Holiday Policy within your business as well as give guidance around how to proactively manage employee holidays.

To discuss holiday management or to book a free consultation call 0161 603 2156 and speak to one of our Employment Law Advisers.

How to avoid the pitfalls of short service dismissals

A common myth that employers hear when dismissing staff is “The employee can’t claim at tribunal if they have less than two years service.” However, this is not strictly true and something employers should be wary of.

We’ve highlighted the most common grounds on which an employee can claim automatic unfair dismissal and the tribunal claims that do not require qualifying service to be brought about to help arm employers with the right information to protect themselves.

On the whole, the most common grounds for automatic unfair dismissal are quite obvious, however there are areas within these that can be problematic.

Automatically unfair dismissal

Pregnancy, Maternity and Parental Rights

Pregnant employees are rightfully protected and will therefore present the most risk if dismissed.

If an employee is dismissed as a result of being pregnant, having time off sick due to pregnancy related illness or for antenatal appointments, going on maternity leave or requesting a flexible working request, the dismissal would be automatically unfair.

The period of ‘enhanced protection’ will start from the employer being advised of the pregnancy, or the employee becoming pregnant, and will continue until the employee returns from maternity leave.

Employees (male or female) who are dismissed for taking emergency leave to look after a sick child or for requesting parental leave would have a claim for automatic unfair dismissal.

Under the Family Friendly laws, parents have a statutory right to care for sick children or request unpaid time specifically to spend with their child.

Discrimination

If a dismissal is founded on the grounds of race, religion, sexual orientation, age, gender, ill health or gender reassignment then it will be automatically unfair. Under the Equality Act 2010 every employee, regardless of length of service, has the right to be treated equally. The more diverse a workforce is, the less likely an employee is able to claim that they are being treated unfairly due to a protected characteristic, as it is more likely that there will be a direct comparator to compare the claimant to.

Remember, not being discriminated is a day one right for each and every worker and employer!

Whistleblowing, also known as Protected Disclosure

If an employee has made a protected disclosure that is in the public interest and is subsequently dismissed for doing so, this is automatically unfair. There have been a lot of confusing judgements that have come from previous tribunals and it is difficult to know where the goal posts stand. A protected disclosure is now deemed as a disclosure that has been made to a formal body verbally or in writing i.e. a nurse who has complained verbally to the CQC.

Right to National Minimum Wage

Under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 an employee is entitled to be paid the current National Minimum Wage set by the government. If an employee asserts this right to their employer and is dismissed, the dismissal would be automatically unfair. This is very pertinent at present within the care industry where employees have been underpaid for sleep-ins.

Opting out of Sunday working

Opting out of Sunday working is applicable to retail and betting shops only. Employees in these sectors have the legal right to opt out of Sunday working under the Sunday Trading Act 1994, and their employer must comply. If an employee is dismissed for opting out of Sunday working, this is automatically unfair. However, an employee who is contracted to work Sundays ONLY does not have the right to opt out.

Working Time Regulations

Breaching the Working Time Regulations is another statutory right that can land employers in tribunal. Employees are legally entitled to rest breaks throughout the course of the working week. Dismissing an employee for asserting their rights to correct breaks is automatically unfair.

Breach of Contract

When dismissing an employee, the way employers dismiss the employee is almost as important as the reason. A fair process should be followed in line with the ACAS code of practice. Not following the ACAS process could itself result in a claim at tribunal, even if the reason for the dismissal is deemed to be fair. A breach of contract claim for an employee with short service is generally compensation for the time between the date the employee was dismissed, and the date they would have been dismissed had a fair process been completed. It is very important to know what is detailed in the employee’s terms and conditions to ensure that enhanced policies don’t bind the employer in anyway.

The highest award in an unfair dismissal claim for 2017/18 was £415,227[i]

Context is everything

When looking to dismiss an employee that has short service, it is always best to consider the context in which you are dismissing. If you dismiss for the reasons of a breach of the employee’s statutory right, it would be deemed an automatic unfair dismissal. If that is the case, Supportis strongly recommend that employers seek legal advice.

It may be that a settlement offer is put forward on a commercial basis in order to part ways between both employer and employee saving costs from an Employment Tribunal, such as legal expenses and awards set by the judge.

Be aware that there are always exceptions to the rule that employees under two years’ service aren’t eligible to bring claims. If you are considering dismissing an employee with short service Supportis can advise you on best practice and ensure you avoid pitfalls. Call us on 0161 603 2156 to find out more about how we can help you and your business.

[i] The Ministry of Justice  published its annual employment tribunal award statistics for 2017/2018